Overview
By default, Claude writes in a polite, slightly corporate voice that everyone on the internet now recognizes as "AI." That's fine for quick answers — but it's terrible when you need Claude to draft your own messages, posts, or emails. Styles fix this. They're reusable voice presets you can switch into with one click, and you can create custom ones from samples of your own writing. In this guide, we'll set up three Styles you'll use weekly: Concise, My Voice, and one task-specific style of your choice.
Who This Is Useful For
What You Will Build
Three working Styles in your Claude account:
By the end, you'll be able to switch from one voice to another with a single dropdown click — and the messages Claude drafts won't need a "humanize" rewrite anymore.
What You Need
Step 1: Understand the Difference Between Styles and Project Instructions
This trips up a lot of new users, so let's clear it up first:
You can — and should — use both at once. Your Work Project tells Claude you're a marketing manager at a SaaS company; your "My Voice" Style tells Claude to write like you when drafting emails inside that Project.
Step 2: Try the Built-In Styles First
Claude ships with a few preset Styles. Above the message box, click the Style dropdown and you'll see options like Normal, Concise, Explanatory, and Formal.
Run this exact prompt under each one to feel the difference:
Explain in 3 sentences why people procrastinate.
You'll notice:
For 80% of daily use, Concise is the right default. Set it now: click the Style dropdown → click the pin icon next to Concise (or set it as default in Settings).
Step 3: Create Your "My Voice" Style
This is the most valuable Style you'll ever create. It teaches Claude to write as you.
Click the Style dropdown → + Create style. Name it My Voice.
In the description box, paste:
Write in my personal voice. Match the samples below for tone,
sentence length, vocabulary, and rhythm.Style notes:
Use short, direct sentences
Avoid buzzwords and corporate filler
Don't open with "I'd be happy to" or "Certainly"
Use natural contractions (it's, you're, don't)
Add the occasional dry humor when appropriate
When unsure, ask one short clarifying question Samples of my real writing:
[Paste sample 1 — an email you sent recently]
[Paste sample 2 — a message or post you wrote]
[Paste sample 3 — a longer doc or note]
Save. Now switch into the My Voice Style and ask Claude to draft something:
Draft a 3-sentence reply telling my friend I can't make
dinner on Saturday because I'm sick.
Read it. Does it sound like you? If yes, you're done. If it still feels too "AI", go back and add 1–2 more samples — especially ones that show your quirks (favorite words, sentence starters, punctuation habits).
Step 4: Build One Task-Specific Style
"My Voice" handles personal stuff. Now build one Style for whatever you write most often professionally. Common ones:
For example, here's a working Customer Support Style description:
You are drafting customer support replies for me. Tone:
empathetic, calm, solution-focused.Structure every reply as:
1. One sentence acknowledging the issue
2. The fix or answer
3. A clear next step
Rules:
Never apologize more than once
Never promise timelines unless I tell you to
End with one open-ended sentence inviting more questions
Maximum 4 short paragraphs Sample of how I usually write:
[Paste 1–2 customer replies you've written]
Save it. Whenever a customer ticket lands, switch into this Style and Claude drafts in seconds.
Step 5: Switch Styles Mid-Conversation
You don't have to commit to one Style for an entire chat. Switch any time using the dropdown — Claude keeps the conversation context.
Example flow:
1. Start in Concise — paste a long article: "summarize the 5 key points"
2. Switch to My Voice — "now draft a 2-paragraph reflection on this in my voice"
3. Switch to Formal — "rewrite that reflection as a 1-paragraph LinkedIn post"
Each step uses the right voice for the job. The article gets summarized cleanly, the reflection sounds like you, the LinkedIn version is appropriate for a professional audience.
Step 6: When to Update Your Styles
Styles aren't fire-and-forget. Treat them like living docs:
Going Further
Combine Styles with Projects. The most powerful setup is Project + Style. Open your Work Project, switch to your Customer Support Style, and Claude drafts perfectly contextual replies in seconds.
Build a "Translator" Style. A surprisingly useful one: a Style that takes any input and rewrites it in plain English (or 繁體中文). Useful for legal docs, contracts, and dense articles.
Share Styles with collaborators. On the Team plan, Styles can be shared across the team — great for keeping a unified brand voice across everyone's drafts.
Key Takeaways
Here's what you learned in this guide: